Isidoro Libero

His Excellency Isidoro Libero CI
Isidoro Libero, 2003
9th President of Imagua and the Assimas
In office 23 April, 1996 – 23 April, 2004
Prime Minister	Austin Houghton Viviana Andreoli Erico D'Antonio
Preceded by	Erico D'Antonio
Succeeded by	Erico D'Antonio
Member of Parliament for Tarnstead
In office 23 April, 1980 – 22 May, 1995
Preceded by	Dwane Harris
Succeeded by	Preston May
Personal details
Born	Isidoro Libero (1953-09-25) 25 September 1953 Cuanstad, Saint Ellen's, Imagua and the Assimas
Nationality	Imaguan
Political party	Democratic Labour Party
Spouse	Jillian Ornell
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Cuanstad

Isidoro Libero (b. 25 September, 1953) is a former Imaguan politician who served as the ninth President of Imagua and the Assimas from 1996 until 2004 for two consecutive terms, after defeating incumbent Conservative President Erico D'Antonio, and National Reform candidate Rudy Wilkinson.

Born into poverty, he managed to rise beyond the poverty line, and worked at the Bank of the Orient as a clerk from 1975 to 1979. In 1976, he joined the Democratic Labour Party, and in 1980 was elected for the first time as a member of Parliament for the constituency of Tarnstead, where he would serve for the next fifteen years.

In 1984, he was appointed to the Ministry of Labour by Prime Minister Edmondo Privitera, helping oversee the implementation of labour regulations, and helping lead Imagua out of the recession. He remained Labour Minister until the DLP lost its majority in the 1992 general elections.

In 1995, he led the DLP into that year's snap elections against Conservative Isaac Egnell and National Reform Austin Houghton. Despite his personal successes, the DLP remained the official opposition, and the National Reform Party formed government, with Elliott losing his own seat.

The following year, he ran for the presidency, defeating both incumbent President Erico D'Antonio, and National Reform candidate Rudy Wilkinson, with sixty-eight percent of the vote, with eighty-six percent of all eligible voters participating in that year's elections. After a tumultuous first year, in which he faced conflict with Austin Houghton, Houghton lost the 1997 snap parliamentary elections to Viviana Andreoli, who would remain Prime Minister until 2001.

In 2000, he won against D'Antonio, allowing him to serve a second term. However, D'Antonio would become Prime Minister in 2001, meaning that for most of his second term, he was cooperating with the Nationals. In 2004, he was succeeded by D'Antonio after the defeat of DLP candidate Gioventino Buonaiuto.

Since then, he served as a lecturer at the University of Cuanstad until 2018 for public administration, and in 2009 published his memoirs. As of 2018, he has retired from public life.

Early life

Ornell Elliott was born as the oldest of five children, and the eldest of three sons, to dockworker Andrew Elliott and to Esther Elliott in the Cuanstad neighbourhood of Tarnstead. Despite his father's profession, they were below the poverty line.

In 1958, Ornell Elliott started attending Tarnstead Primary School, where he was described as a bright student. Despite suggestions by teachers for him to go to a private school for gifted children, his parents never could afford the costs, forcing him to continue attending it.

In 1964, he took the eleven-plus, and after passing it was selected to go to a grammar school. Thus, he started attending the Assim Asteris Grammar School. During this time, he was described as a bright student, and participated in the debate club.

In 1968, he passed the O-levels, and started attending Sixth Form. He passed the A-levels in 1970, and was given a scholarship to attend the University of Cuanstad.

At the University of Cuanstad, he studied economics, and received a bachelor's degree in 1973, and a master's degree in 1975. He then went to work at the Bank of the Orient for a few years, where he met his future wife, Jillian Smith.

Early political career

Constituency association

In 1976, as Ornell Elliott started to work at the Bank of the Orient, he joined the Tarnstead constituency association on the urging of his colleague, Dwane Harris, who was running for a seat in the Lesser House of Parliament.

During the election campaign, Ornell Elliott campaigned for Harris' election against incumbent Conservative Jacob Franklin. Elliott helped bolster support for Harris' campaign, allowing Dwane Harris to defeat Franklin 52.9% to 43.1%.

Over the next few years, Ornell Elliott played an important role in the Tarnstead constituency association, helping promote the policies of the Democratic Labour Party in the local area. By 1979, Harris announced his retirement from politics, and the local constituency association nominated Elliott to run for Harris' seat.

Thus, Ornell Elliott faced off against Conservative candidate Lochlan Roberts, and Democratic candidate James Gibson. Ornell's campaign was based on promising that he would address the issues facing Tarnstead and to "help ensure that the recovery benefits the people of Tarnstead" as opposed to the "bankers in the city centre." He criticized Lochlan Roberts for "supporting policies which would harm the people of Tarnstead," and criticized Gibson for his party's "complicity" in the recession impacting Imagua and the Assimas at that time.

By the time results came in, Ornell Elliott won the seat with 56.3% of the vote, compared to Roberts' 41.1% of the vote, allowing Ornell Elliott to take a seat in the Lesser House.

Backbencher

On 23 April, 1980, Ornell Elliott was sworn in for his first term in the Lesser House of Parliament. As a brand new member of Parliament, he was a backbencher.

During this term, Ornell Elliott represented the issues of his constituency of Tarnstead, and criticized Anthony Brockett's government for not doing enough to address the recession on Imagua and the Assimas, and for bailing out the banks, saying that "the economic policy of the Conservative government harms ordinary people, while letting the bankers who caused the crisis off scot-free."

His fierce criticisms of the Conservative government helped increase his popularity within the Democratic Labour Party, and among the general population, which meant that by the time of the 1984 general elections, Ornell Elliott was expected to win easily over Conservative candidate Jim Wilkinson.

The 1984 general election saw Elliott win a second term over Jim Wilkinson with 61.2% of the vote, compared to Wilkinson's 37.5% of the vote, allowing Ornell Elliott to keep his seat in the Lesser House of Parliament.

Labour Minister

Following his re-election, Ornell Elliott was appointed by incoming Prime Minister Edmondo Privitera to be the Labour Minister on 23 April, 1984.

As Labour Minister, Elliott was responsible for overseeing the implementation of regulations concerning labour laws, and labour policies which would affect the Imaguan workforce. During this period, Ornell Elliott rose to further prominence, as the Democratic Labour government instituted regulations to protect the Imaguan workforce, such as reinstating the card check system for unions on the island in 1984, increasing the minimum wage from 5 shillings to 15 shillings in 1985.

With the economy exiting recession by 1985, Ornell Elliott continued to shape labour policy in Imagua, while Elliott had been praised for his leadership in helping end the recession in the country. This strengthened Ornell Elliott's position in the Democratic Labour Party, but also among the general public, as he became more prominent in how the party shaped policy.

In the 1988 elections, he defeated Conservative candidate Jake Ellis, and National Reform candidate Preston May, with 53.2% of the vote, allowing him to keep his seat in the Lesser House of Parliament. In his second term, he remained as Labour Minister, continuing to serve "with distinction" and shaping government policy.

Despite his successes in the Ministry of Labour, Ornell Elliott's popularity started to wane among his constituents in Tarnstead, as they believed that Elliott was not paying as much attention to their interests. Thus, during his second term, support began to shift away from the DLP, and towards other parties, most notably the fledgling National Reform Party.

Thus, by 1992, Ornell Elliott faced re-election, against National Reform candidate Preston May, and Conservative candidate Bev Nicholson. While he did maintain his seat, with 42.7% of the vote, compared to May's 31.5% of the vote, and Nicholson's 24.9% of the vote, he was forced into the opposition as the DLP lost their majority government.

Leader of the Opposition

After the resignation of former Deputy Prime Minister Gerald Larsson from the leadership of the Democratic Labour Party, Ornell Elliott was appointed acting parliamentary leader for the DLP until the 1992 leadership convention.

In June of that year, the leadership convention was held, where Ornell Elliott won over Emma Duncan, with 55% of the vote, making him the official leader of the opposition.

As opposition leader, he attacked the economic policies of Prime Minister Isaac Egnell. While he did support the Conservative motion to decriminalize homosexuality, he also attacked Austin Houghton of the National Reform Party for espousing "racist views" that threatened to "undermine the very character of our country."

However, in 1995, he voted against the budget of Isaac Egnell's government, which would have cut funding to education, and healthcare, as well as reducing agricultural subsidies. This forced Isaac Egnell to request a snap election, which President Erico D'Antonio granted.

Thus, when the writ was dropped, Ornell Elliott leveraged his high personal popularity, and campaigned on "continuing on the hard work of the DLP" if elected. However, his inexperience in politics compared to both Egnell and Houghton was seen as a disadvantage, and was exploited by his opponents.

However, on the ITS debates, both Houghton and Elliott performed well, which helped increase their standing among the voting public.

On 21 April, 1995, when the results were released, the Conservatives fell to sixteen seats, while the National Reform Party gained twenty-eight seats and the DLP gained twenty-six seats. This allowed Austin Houghton to establish a minority government.

In his own constituency, Elliott was defeated by Preston May of the National Reform Party, with Elliott only earning 39.2% of the vote compared to May's 41.9% of the vote. Thus, he conceded defeat to Preston May and to Austin Houghton.

1996 presidential election

At the 1995 leadership convention of the Democratic Labour Party, Ornell Elliott announced his intention to run for the presidential nomination, as opposed to the premiership, as despite the minority government of the National Reform Party, his loss of his own seat discredited him as a nominee for the premiership.

With support from key figures within the DLP, such as Edmondo Privitera, he was able to secure the party's presidential nomination, and the party ultimately selected Viviana Andreoli, the longest serving member of Parliament to run for the premiership.

Thus, during the next several months, Ornell Elliott began preparing for the 1996 presidential election, as he knew that the competition with the incumbent Conservative president Erico D'Antonio and National Reform may be utilized by either the DLP or National Reform to help win the upcoming presidential election. This meant he had to plan a strategy to ensure that voters from both the left and the right would vote for him in the upcoming presidential election.

However, at the same time, he knew that as the parliamentary elections took place in the past year, it was unlikely many would be voting in a presidential election, as the presidency was perceived to not be an important position, as the president functioned more as a head of state, and had very little influence. Of the many who intended to vote in the upcoming presidential election, most said that they would vote for the National Reform candidate.

Thus, on 25 January, 1996, when the writ was dropped by Erico D'Antonio, Ornell Elliott faced Conservative incumbent D'Antonio, and National Reform candidate Rudy Wilkinson, who at that time was the Deputy Prime Minister.

As was expected, the National Reform Party was in the lead, as early polls indicated that of the 30% of Imaguans intending to vote in that year's presidential election, around eighty percent of those were intending to vote for Rudy Wilkinson of the National Reform Party, with twelve percent intending to vote for Elliott, with only a handful intending to vote for Erico D'Antonio.

Thus, Ornell Elliott's primary strategy involved organising "get out the vote" campaigns, saying that not voting would lead to a National Reform victory, and would lead to "greater authoritarianism" by the National Reform government as they would be able to control appointments to the Senate, the judiciary, and thus would be able to pass more of their agenda. While he did campaign on some policies, most notably vowing to preserve the autonomy of the Assimas Parish, Elliott was far more concerned with defeating Rudy Wilkinson.

On the presidential debates organised by the Imaguan Television Service, Elliott performed well over both D'Antonio and Wilkinson, which helped cause D'Antonio to suspend his campaign, and urge that all Conservative supporters vote in Elliott to stop National Reform from taking power.

This endorsement, combined with the growing unpopularity of Austin Houghton's government, and the increasing voter registration, helped mean that on 25 March, 1996, Elliott was voted in with 68% of the vote, with a turnout of 86% of the population, making this presidential election the election with the highest voter turnout in Imaguan history.

Over the next month, he and D'Antonio coordinated the transition, with Elliott intending to do "anything reasonably possible" to prevent Houghton from implementing his agenda.

Presidency

First term

Ornell Elliott, 1999

On 23 April, 1996, Ornell Elliott was sworn in as the ninth President of Imagua and the Assimas, succeeding Erico D'Antonio, making him the second Bahio-Imaguan president after Eric Fleming, who served from 1960 to 1968. Unlike previous presidential elections, where he would also unveil a cabinet, Elliott did not unveil a cabinet, as the cabinet led by incumbent Prime Minister Austin Houghton was still in effect.

From early on in his first term, Ornell Elliott announced his intention to use his reserve powers to veto legislation which would "harm the Imaguan nation." While this was criticized by Austin Houghton and members of the National Reform Party, as it was seen as hypocritical, many Imaguans approved of the strategy, with the party establishments of both the Conservative Party and the Democratic Labour Party supporting his actions.

In August, Elliott vetoed the heartbeat bill after it passed both chambers of Parliament of Imagua and the Assimas, which would have criminalized all abortion after a fetal heartbeat could be detected, saying that "it was a fundamental violation of human rights," and that such a bill would "harm not just the women, but also children who are condemned to suffer because their mothers cannot access safe abortion."

This decision helped increase Ornell Elliott's popularity among the Imaguan population, with opinion polls by November after Houghton tabled a bill to repeal the Assimas Autonomy Act of 1969 showing that Elliott had high support, with 85% of those surveyed reporting his performance as either satisfactory or excellent.

Despite the death of the repeal in the Lesser House of Parliament, these actions by Austin Houghton decreased the support of the National Reform Party among the population, while efforts by the leadership of both the DLP and the Conservatives to cooperate on ousting Houghton in the upcoming parliamentary elections started to bear fruit.

On 24 March, 1997, after the defeat of Houghton's budget, snap parliamentary elections were called. During this time, Ornell Elliott campaigned alongside Viviana Andreoli, who promised to fix "up the messes left behind by Houghton," and "help Ornell get the job done." Combined with the severe unpopularity of the National Reform Party, the Democratic Labour Party was able to increase their share by fifteen seats, and reduce National Reform's seat totals to one seat.

Thus, on 22 May, 1997, Viviana Andreoli was sworn in as Prime Minister, succeeding Austin Houghton. During her premiership, Ornell Elliott functioned more as a head of state, and did not intervene as extensively as he did during his first year in office. This allowed Elliott to spend more time travelling across the world to represent Imagua and the Assimas at international conferences and events.

Nonetheless, he continued to shape government policy, and in August 1997, he signed the Seventh Amendment into law, formally making it part of the Imaguan constitution.

During the rest of his term, while Andreoli's popularity declined, especially as her economic policies had much more in common with that of the Conservatives as opposed to the DLP, Ornell Elliott maintained high popularity to such an extent that at the 1999 leadership convention, there was suggestions for Andreoli to stand down and run for the presidency. However, the party nominated Ornell Elliott to run for a second term.

Thus, when the writ was dropped for the 2000 presidential election, he faced Austin Houghton of the National Reform Party, and former President Erico D'Antonio of the Conservative Party. During this campaign, Elliott campaigned on continuing his policies, vowing to "represent the best of the Imaguan nation," and to help make a "just Imagua for all people."

Elliott performed well in the Estmerish language debates held by the Imaguan Television Service, but did not perform as well as D'Antonio in the Etrurian language debates.

Combined with the fact that the National Reform Party was now a fringe force in Imaguan politics, it was predicted that due to the unpopularity of Andreoli, the Conservatives might be able to take the presidency.

It came as a surprise when on 24 March, 2000, Elliott won with 49% of the vote, compared to D'Antonio's 45%. This allowed him to serve a second term as President.

Second term

Ornell Elliott, 2003

On 23 April, 2000, Ornell Elliott was sworn in for his second term as President of Imagua and the Assimas. Like his first term, he did not name a new cabinet, although a minor cabinet shuffle did take place.

In Elliott's second term as President, he continued to represent Imagua and the Assimas on the international stage, attending conferences and events as a representative of Imagua.

However, at the 2000 leadership review, Viviana Andreoli announced her retirement from politics, and that she would not run for a second term as Prime Minister on behalf of the Democratic Labour Party. In her stead, she was replaced by former Prime Minister Edmondo Privitera as parliamentary leader, and as candidate for the Imaguan premiership in the 2001 general elections.

Thus, when the writ was dropped in January 2001, Edmondo Privitera campaigned against National nominee Erico D'Antonio, and National Reform candidate Miriam Fontana. During the 2001 parliamentary elections, Ornell Elliott made campaign appearances alongside Edmondo Privitera, but the unpopularity of Viviana Andreoli meant a National victory was inevitable.

On 23 April, 2001, the DLP fell to 33 seats in the Lesser House of Parliament, while the Nationals gained 37 seats, allowing Erico D'Antonio to form a majority government. D'Antonio was sworn in as Prime Minister on 22 May, 2001, succeeding Viviana Andreoli.

This led to a period of cohabitation, as while the Nationals had control over the Lesser House and the premiership, the DLP had control of the Imaguan presidency. However, as tradition dictated, the President only had effective control over shaping foreign policy, while Erico D'Antonio had control of everything else.

Over the next three years, the two sides co-operated, in order to ensure that the Imaguan governmental system would function normally.

At the 2003 leadership conference, as Ornell Elliott was nearing his term limit set out under the Imaguan constitution, he was to not run for the presidency. The DLP nominated Pete Tasuku for the Imaguan premiership, while for the presidency, they nominated Gioventino Buonaiuto.

When it was revealed that Erico D'Antonio was to be the National's presidential nominee, Elliott was more than willing to accept D'Antonio's request that a parliamentary election be held in January 2004.

During the election campaign, Ornell Elliott campaigned alongside Bounaiuto and Tasuku, but despite their efforts, the DLP was not able to maintain control over the presidency, let alone retake control of the Lesser House, as they lost three more seats.

Post-political career

Ornell Elliott with police officers and youth, 2013

Following his succession on 23 April, 2004, by Erico D'Antonio as Imaguan president, Ornell Elliott announced that he would not run for a national political office. Instead, he was hired as a lecturer at the University of Cuanstad in public administration, working as a lecturer from 2004 to 2018.

In June 2005, he became a Companion of the Order of Imagua due to his distinguished service in the Imaguan political arena. While it was criticized by former Prime Minister Austin Houghton, as he felt it was insulting that he never received the Order of Imagua, most people were supportive of it.

In 2009, Elliott published his memoirs, Dragonslayer, with the name chosen by Elliott as he "slayed the dragon that was the National Reform Party." The memoirs were largely positively received, and sold well.

In 2018, he announced his retirement from public life, saying that "I have contributed a lot to society," and that he wanted to enjoy a "peaceful retirement."

Personal life

Ornell Elliott is married to Jillian Ornell, having married her in 1979, and have two children together: Ezra Ornell, born in 1981, and Gladys Ornell, born in 1983.

His native language is Western Imaguan Creole, but he is fluent in Estmerish and Etrurian, and can comfortably carry a basic conversation in Ostisk and Gaullican.

Ornell Elliott is a devout Low Estmerian.

Political views

Ornell Elliott is a social democrat, believing that while capitalism is a good way for Imaguans to prosper, it has to be kept in check to ensure "the benefits trickle down to all, not be concentrated in the elites."

Economically, he supports increasing regulations to "protect the Imaguan workforce," while at the same time wanting to ensure companies do not leave the islands.

Socially, he is a social liberal, supporting abortion up until 20 weeks, supporting same-sex marriage, and the environmental movement.

Honours

Domestic

• - Companion of the Order of Imagua, 2005